It's time to listen

Sep 02, 2009

Letter to the Editor
Doug Anakin, Invermere
The Valley Echo
September 2, 2009

This Friday, September 4, the elected directors of the RDEK will be presented with a petition signed by several hundred local residents. The directors will be asked to review, reconsider and rescind the motion passed at their last meeting regarding land use in the Jumbo mountain area.

By rescinding that motion, the RDEK directors would be acknowledging having made a mistake in passing a motion on such an important issue, on such short notice, without meaningful public consultation.

Hopefully, the directors will act according to the wishes expressed in the petition by their constituents. This, in turn, will permit the land use issue to be brought to the people so that a decision can be reached in a democratic manner by counting votes.

By responding positively to the petitioning, a practice first established in England with the Magna Carta, way back in 1215 and later with the Bill of Rights in 1689, the directors will undoubtedly restore people's confidence in the regional government.

Then, public consultation, followed by a popular vote on the land use issue, will resolve the land use issue and ensure for all BC residents that land use decisions would be made locally.